Entrecarders!
WHO DID YOU FIND WHILE DROPPING THIS WEEK?!

It’s time for us to give out some linky love to our favorite Entrecarder of the week!
COPY THE BANNER AND BLOG ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE THIS WEEK.
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EntreCard Find of the Week is now a collaborative effort between Moomettesgram’s Musings and
The Mom With Brownies.

I luv participating in Entre-Find of the Week!’ What a cool way to share the newest blogs you’ve EC dropped in on!

Yes, I know today is Sunday, and as usual, I’m always a day late & dollar short.  Since Slugger’s arrival about 10 days ago, I’ve found myself helping DD out with ‘Lil Moomette.  It seems that since Charming Son-In-Law went back to work after a short “family time leave,” DD has had a meltdown of sorts and is finding out that….geez, being a mommy of 2 isn’t a piece of cake!  So who does she call?  Her own mama!

Anyways, I’m here today, ableit late, about my friend Kim’s new website, JA Blog Grapics.

Long before JA Blog Graphics was born, I had Kim do a few 125 x 125 banners for me. You wouldn’t believe how talented she is, it just blows me away!  See, Kim is an architect by profession ~ and that just amazes me too.  Kim has a natural talent and eye for presentation.  Kim also writes a mean blog at What’s That Smell, and is also one of my award winners of Moomette’s Best WAHM/Blog Site Award.

While I’m at it ~ What’s That Smell is sponsoring a Virtual Baby Shower ~ and Moomette’s Magnificents Olde Towne Shoppes is one of the sponsor/donors ~ you have to see the cool Baby Blankets that I’ll be donating!

Besides banners of all sizes, Kim also does Headers & Sets.

Like my new Banners?  Kim did the WAHM Guru one for me, matching Plug Buttons & a non-static Avatar, as well as the “Been Around the Block” one promoting my Product Reviews.

Now I’m all gussied up for all the WAHM and eBiz forums that I belong too.  No longer is anyone looking at my Maxine Avatar!

So if you’re in the market for some unique artistic talent to promote your WAHM blog, site or eBay store, go check out JA Blog Graphics, and let Kim know Moomettesgram sent you!

Who was your favorite EntreFind this week? Click here to learn how to play. Don’t forget to come back after you blog about your weekly favorite to leave the link to your post below. We want to read your favorites too!

Are you looking for more traffic to your Blog, online e-Store or eBay Store?  Have you jumped on the Twitter bandwagon yet? If not, read on!

I signed up just recently and I’m having so much fun! Not only have I met new friends, but I find that it’s the perfect medium to stay on top of things. It’s also really easy to communicate with my fellow bloggers that I’ve met through Entrecard.  Hey ~ even this Baby Boomer tries to stay ahead of the curve on all the latest technology!  Here’s why I think it’s great for WAHMs to use to promote your online businesses, blogs or eBay business.

Whether you are just getting started with an online business or you have been around for a while and looking for a new way to network, have a look at Twitter. Part chat program and part tiny blog, you will find that the Twitter interface is one that can change the way you interact with your current customers and potential customers worldwide.

Here’s 5 reasons why Twitter’s a powerful marketing tool for online WAHM business owners like you.

1. It’s Short, Sweet & To the Point
Have you ever heard the phrase, less is more? You’ll find that one of the best things about Twitter is that it keeps all messages very short and sweet. You’ll have to give your customers and clients the gist of what is going on in short tweets (messages similar to instant messages) that allow their interest to be piqued in such a way as to make them investigate further. You won’t bother them with long-winded messages that make them yawn and move on. Instead, you’ll be able to catch their attention quickly and make them want to know more.

2. Immediacy
Much like a blog or an RSS feed, you can get access to the people that use Twitter regularly. In some ways, this is like making sure that you can reach them no matter where they are, and you’ll find that this is very important when you want to make marketing one of your biggest priorities. You’re making sure that they have all of the latest updates to what you are doing and what’s going on by simply sending a tweet their way.

3. Everyone’s Doing It
In many ways, Twitter is a social program more than it is a marketing one, and you’ll find that using Twitter can help you feel a great deal closer to your client base and other’s in your online community. If you are looking to make sure that they see you as a person rather than as simply a company or service, you’ll find that Twitter encourages them to think of you as someone they can get to know. This can be very important when it comes to establishing a customer base and customer loyalty.

4. You Get to Hear a Lot
Remember that it goes both ways; you can put information out on Twitter and you can also learn a lot too. By following other’s Twitter accounts, especially if it looks like they have a lot to offer, you can keep in the know about various products, services, and other happenings online. This can be a great way to keep an eye on what is going on in order to keep yourself in the know of your industry.

5. Make Them Laugh
You can also use Twitter to tease people a little bit, in a fun way, of course! When you use Twitter, you have to keep your messages short, and in many ways, a little mysterious. Pique their interest, joke around, and you’ll find that you gain a lot more followers and hopefully website traffic and customers as a result.

Be warned, just as with any other social networking site, Twitter can quickly become addicting if you let it. Don’t go overboard and get so involved in all the tweeting that it takes away from your intended purpose. Used wisely Twitter can be a great and powerful marketing tool to help create online business success.

Sign up for my Newsletter for more updates about Twitter.

Want to know what I’m doing now?  Just read my Twitter Box on my right-hand sidebar!  Follow Me!

Do you sell on eBay, or are you an eBay Store owner or Boutique Shop Owner?  I belong to the Auction Sellers Motivators forum ~ a great source of information for ebay Sellers.  It helps me tremendously with my Moomette’s Magnificents eBay store, where I’m a Power Seller.

Businesses Growing Together would like to invite all ASM members to participate in their Holiday Specials and Discount Offers online discount pages.

The holidays will be coming upon us fast! This is an ideal opportunity for all of us to collaborate in promoting our stores though our 2008 Holiday Shopping Directory. This is completely FREE advertising and promotion! Everyone who owns an online store is welcome to join!

BGT has made it easy for you to register. Simply go to http://www.businessesgrowingtogether.com/Discount/1

and click on the form to submit to participate in this event. Feel free to click around the site and see all the stores that are currently registered by store name and by category.

BGT has made it easy for participating stores to promote this event by providing a short URL to pass on to shoppers – www.Savings-Online.com

BGT is also providing several different size banners and buttons along with the coding needed for participates to post in forums, emails, blogs and where ever else they want to promote the 2008 Holiday Shopping Directory.

Online store registration is open now. The 2008 Holiday Shopping Directory will open to shoppers on September 15, 2008. They are anticipating 200+ stores to be in the directory then so register early.

In a previous post I mentioned how I’m an infamous list maker. I think it’s safe to assume that most women probably are. I have all kinds of lists ~ for my cubicle job, household lists, my eBay store, online boutique Shoppes site ~ even a Bucket List!

My next top priority is to make an effort to get my Virtual Assistant business off and running, so I can retire from that day job that I keep talking about.

I have yet to order business cards for my VA business, but when I do, I’m going to order from Visa Print. They always have some sort of Special Sale going on. I’ve ordered the Free Business Cards for my Shoppes site there, as well as my eBay store. I like to include a business card when shipping out items from my eBay store, thanking my customers for their purchase, and reminding them to leave Feedback for me if they are pleased with the transaction. In the past, I also had cards made up for the various Affiliate companies that I once was an independent consultant for.

What I like about Vista Print is the fact that I can order cards from either their templates, or upload my own, like I did here.

I can even get note pads, address labels and car magnets with my company’s name! I did opt for the cute little gold-finish business card holders which fit easily in my purse.

I’ve been reading on many blogs that those who attended BlogHer ‘08 were passing out business cards.

Many moms use them as “Mommy Cards” to give out to the moms of their childrens’ friends! What a cute idea!

When my own daughters were younger, I printed ‘babysitting’ business cards for them to hand out to put up on the refrigerator, and even passed out a few myself to co-workers who were in need of a sitter. Now you can have them made up for Free at Vista Print!

Check them out!

I’ve been so busy lately, I can’t even breath! Between getting ready for the birth of my new grandson; trips up to Vermont for Charming Son-in-Law’s mom’s 50th birthday party ~ plus we have a wedding coming up that I have to find a dress for!

That’s left very little time for me to try to get any eBay listings done for my eBay store. I’m trying to list things for Back-to-School, along with all the vintage collectibles, sewing patterns and other items I picked up on my recent trip to Upstate New York when I visited my brother.

I also offer Hard-To-Find Health, Beauty & Cosmetic items.  If you’re looking for something in particular or a special brand and can’t find it, e-mail me here and I’ll try to locate it for you and add it to my store!

Here’s a great tip to have fantastic, awsome auctions if you are a SAHM mom, new to selling on eBay, or want to learn how to start selling your household items on eBay to earn a little extra money.

Check out Seller’s Source Book. They literally have thousands of terrific templates to help you have a professional looking auction.

A professional looking listing is no longer a “nice to have” it is a “need to have.” Let us help you maximize the potential of your auctions!

You can schedule your listings to launch directly to eBay ~ have matching About Me templates ~ Host your own images without any additional fees ~ and be privy to Product & Services Reviews,  Articles, Hints & Tips and a Seller’s Community Forum.

Want to see how beautiful the templates are?  Click on any of my auctions and see all the different examples!

Check out SSB if you want to maximize your sales! I’m sure that’s part of what helped me to become an eBay Power Seller!

I haven’t checked the calendar, but I bet it’s pretty close to a Full Moon tonight. Usually I know when it’s a Full Moon because I hear the Consumer Services Reps bouncing off the ceiling fielding telephone calls, as they sit not too far from me at my cubicle job. But I didn’t go into the cube today.

It seems all day long, all I’ve had is technical problems.

First, all of the my incoming links to this blog disappeared from my Admin Panel. Then, I can’t upload all of my ebay store new inventory items to Google Base Connector, because I found out after doing a post on Suzanne Wells‘, the eBay Coach Free Forum that it’s down, and has been down for awhile, and the Google gods can’t fix it, yet.

Also, Social Spark and Pay-Per-Post are having issues, and that’s messing up some of the blogs according to my Mom Bloggers Club friends, and Tammy at Mommy Knows Everything, in particular (who kindly responded to a comment I posted on her site. See, she does Know Everything!)

However, in spite of all that, here’s a tip for all of you who’ve bothered to read as far down as this sentence.

I use Avast as my anti-virus protection, and ran a scan today because of other issues. Thank goodness for that FREE terrific software. Here’s how to get a FREE download:

Avast Anti Virus 4 Home Edition. The most recent release, Version 4.8.1201.80611 contains improvements in spyware and rootkit detection.

Although this program is free to use you must register before the end of the 60 day trial period. Once you have completed the registration you will receive an email with your license key which is valid for one year. Once you have downloaded and installed the program, insert the license key within 60 days. The registration process is simple and only takes a few minutes. At the end of the one year you simply need to re-register and obtain a new free license.

Download the FREE English version here. By the way, this is not a paid post, just a good tip!

Hat Tip to Colin! Thanks!

In my WAHM tips, I frequently speak of how I belong to many social networking sites and forums. I’m a Moderator on eBay Coach Free Forum, and always send out an introductory ‘Welcome to the Group’ e-mail. In it, I ask that the first stop be the “Introduction” thread…to give a little bit of background about one’s self, and how they found the forum.

Oftentimes Newbies head straight for making a post. But really, take a moment to introduce yourself to the group…it really is important for everyone to get to know you, and say hello. Read on to see why!

The Forgotten Forum Introduction
By: S McIntyre

Hello, my name is Sophia and I’m from Beautiful BC, Canada and home to the 2010 Winter Olympics. I started working in late 2002 in various online endeavors. I own a work at home website, a health blog and moderate three work at home forums. I’m looking forward to contributing and getting to know you all better.

How hard was that? Not hard at all and it only took me about…oh…30 seconds if that, to let everyone know who I am and what I do. Forum introductions are an integral step and is just as important as reading the forum rules. Don’t short change yourself by posting an “empty” introduction. Remember, first impressions always counts.

As a forum owner, I’m well aware of how many people “forget” this all important step. While many forums have a free section for members to promote their businesses, how beneficial is it to make your first post a “post and run”? I can honestly say if a forum requires an introduction your ad just met the delete button and even if they don’t, it’s simply forum etiquette. Forums are invaluable tools and it should be utilized to its fullest potential.

How many people who are looking to join a home business or looking for a specific product would seek out a member who only posts in the advertising forum? It’s not many to my knowledge. Would you enter a room full of prospects only to pass out your business card and leave? I don’t think so.

If you made your introduction and then secluded yourself to only one section of the forum it doesn’t mean your job is done. In fact, that is just as bad as not introducing yourself, in my opinion. The next step is to read the forum and join in various discussions, share your knowledge or expertise. Post quality replies to topics of your interests. Now you’re actively networking and it is proven to be more effective in creating sales for yourself. People are more likely to buy from people they know and trust.

Taking full advantage of forums and what they offer goes beyond articles that tell you how you can increase sales and how to drive more traffic to your site. As an active forum member you are getting yourself out there, building trust and networking with potential people who may become your new and returning customers. They are also your word-of-mouth. You have now created your own viral marketing and it’s far more effective than being a “post and run” poster.

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S McIntyre has been working online since 2002 in various online endeavors. She owns Work At Home Space, a free work at home resource offering telecommuting jobs, job leads, articles, tips, information and other work at home related issues.

You can also visit her at her blog Healthy Perspectives, featuring an array of health topics, nutrition, fitness and recipes for maintaining a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle.

If you sell on eBay and have an eBay Store, you may or may not be aware that there have been some recent changes to the advertising policy toward About Me pages.

From the current talk about town, on forums and other sites, live links to outside sites are no longer allowed.

For example, I can no longer have a clickable banner pointing to this blog on my eBay About Me page. Nor can I have live links to my Shoppes site, or my direct sales affiliate links, such as Auction Sniper or Sellers Source Book (which, by the way, is a great source for beautiful templates for your auctions!)

So last night I spent quite a bit of time “killing” the live links to my sites, while still keeping the banners up. I had to figure out a way to point my customers to my other sites, and hope that most of them are computer savy enough to know how to find me from the dot com breadcrumbs I’ve left for them! Being a creative WAHM with an ebiz is hard enough already!

My “new” About Me page is here.

If you still have live links on your site, you might want to re-think doing your own About Me page so you’ll be in compliance with eBay’s new policy.

Back in the beginning when I started my blog, I mentioned how I have an eBay Store where I’m a Power Seller. I am a Vintage Antique Collector, but branched out into other areas as a result of the forums I belong to. I’m a Moderator on eBay Coach Free Forum, and have met many knowledgeable eBay Sellers on there. You can’t beat Suzanne Wells, the eBay Coach, for all the free excellent advice she’s always dishing out.

Just because I’m successful on my eBay site doesn’t mean that there still isn’t a need to re-access the market and go with the flow of the financial economy ~ see what works for you, and what doesn’t. Change is inevitable ~ eBay changes their marketing tactics; the economy changes; and so do my family needs, time constraints and interests. The challenge is still on to reinvent myself and find my niche.

In keeping with my original mantra to keep my readers updated on my progress (or lack of it) towards retirement - I started this blog. As you all know, I have expanded and opened Moomette’s Magnificents Olde Towne Shoppes where I sell hand-crafted items and more. I’ve also found that I love blogging, am putting a great deal of effort and time into it, and enjoy the many new friendships it has afforded me.

I recently posted on my Mama Mentor Blog that I took a little R & R junket to Lake Keuka, one of the Finger Lakes in Upstate New York to visit my brother. That junket actually turned into an Antique Shopping Spree.

When I flew up - all I brought was a carry-on. Since 4 boxes of Vintage Collectibles wouldn’t fit under my plane seat ~ my brother ending up shipping them back to me (graciously, at his expense!) (Snicker-Yippee!)

So, I had a massive auction liquidation of certain lines in my eBay Store, and am increasing my line of Vintage items, in both my eBay Store and my boutique Shoppes site.

Stay tuned for other posts on how things are going with my affiliate marketing ~ that’s a whole ‘nother area I’m re-assessing.

In an earlier post, I spoke of how I recommended to a fellow forum member the benefits of how I started several blogs to promote my Shoppes site, eBay store and affiliates. Here’s additional tips to support that suggestion.

Want Website Traffic? Start A Free Blog!

Blogging has become increasingly popular in the past couple of years. There are more and more blogs created everyday on a vast array of topics. Both personal and business.

If you own a website, then you know how difficult it is to get exposure to it. Creating a blog is one of the best resources there is today for receiving that exposure.

Like anything else…it takes hard work on creating interesting content on a new blog and getting traffic to it. Focus on your website or business when creating new posts and always try and add something new everyday. Try and connect with your creative side…we all possess some level of creativity! Give it a try…you just may surprise yourself at what you manage to conjure up.

Topics:

Concentrate on what people may be searching for today on the Internet. A lot of people are searching for content for their existing websites, marketing advice, and/or finding work at home jobs and home businesses.

While some people may be just searching for friendship and are interested in simply having a good time…getting to know others, conversing about current events, funny jokes, and the like. Some people are interested in infant clothing, toys, various baby items, and parenting tips or advice.

For example: If your website focuses on women’s interests…then center your blog around women’s interests, support groups, parenting issues, bargain shopping, household items, recipes, or whatever your website content may be. Try and make your blog posts as interesting as possible to try and keep people coming back for more.

Tips On Getting Comments:

1) Simply invite people to join in on the conversations and encourage them to comment on the various posts within your blog description.
2) If you own a website and message board, and you have advertising space available for other webmasters or business owners…announce a contest on your message board offering free advertising for the person that posts the most comments on your blog. ( I have a good friend that has done this very thing and it’s working great for her.)
3) Give people a chance to self promote their websites or businesses through their comments.
4) Offer something free…for example, a free ebook or some kind of software.
5) Participate in message boards, announcing your blog, and request their opinion. Ask them to place a comment post and share their thoughts and opinions about your blog.

Promoting Your Blog:

1) Advertise your blog on various message forums.
2) Include your blog link in your signature within message forums and emails.
3) Submit your blog in blog directories.
4) Exchange links with other bloggers.
5) Write articles relating to blogging and submit them to article directories.
6) Advertise your blog in various newsletters and ezines.
7) Include your blog link on any websites you may have.

One Last Thought:

Have fun with your blog. If there is something (off the wall) that you want to share or you think is really amusing…share it in your blog. Write about anything you feel like writing. The possibilities are endless!

You can create a free blog at http://www.blogger.com. Or, you can search for free blog sites at your favorite search engine.

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Article written by: Tammy Embrich
Tammy Embrich is an Internet Marketer and is the
Owner of: WAH Opportunities, Owner of: Real WAH Jobs, and owner of Cookin At Home

Tammy’s two WAH websites focus on free telecommute job leads and more.