What You Must Know: Web Hosting Checklist for Mom Bloggers

Blogging Moms

Affordable Web Hosting Solutions

I just got one of the best Christmas presents from Mom Webs Hosting, my web host!  I host this blog, my recipe blog, Moomettesgram’s Favorite Recipes and my Virtual Assistant website, CAM Virtual Assistant Services on Mom Webs.

Just before Christmas I received an email that said:

Here’s the holiday blessing…

We have significantly bumped the storage and bandwidth limits on our Multi and Mega hosting plans.

Multi storage has been boosted from 600 to 1000 MB and bandwidth has been doubled from 20 to 40 GB.

Mega storage has been blasted from 1000 to 2500 MB and bandwidth has been doubled from 40 to 80 GB.

These increases are PERMANENT – so you can power forward in 2010, growing your business without fear of running out of space and bandwidth.

Enjoy these increases and have an amazing holiday season!

Kelly, Nicole and Scott

If you’re a work at home mom like me, you may also have struggled with finding reliable web hosting. Well, over the years (and many headaches later), I’ve come up with a checklist of essentials that your WAHM web host must have before you even consider working with them.

1. Excellent Reliability.
There is nothing more frustrating than finding out your website is down, and has been for hours. Although no time is a good time to have your site down, the timing can be just terrible. That sinking feeling when you’ve purchased advertising and you know the ad is about to be sent out and you go to your website for last minute touches and … it’s down.

That’s not cool. That is not acceptable. You must make sure that the web host you select not only has good reliability, but superior reliability. This is your business on the line, not some hobby site. Treat it as such and get hosting that works for you when you need it. But, you can’t just trust a website that says they are reliable. Make sure they can prove it.

2. Superior Customer Support.
When you do need help, make sure that your hosting will provide it. One thing I recommend is to contact support to ask a simple question about the hosting, before buying. That will give you an idea of what the customer service is like before you make a commitment. Yes, customer service has a difficult job – making sure they do not confuse less-experienced customers, yet, at the same time, also making sure not to talk down to the geek types. However, you should never feel like you are a “bother” or that your question is not as important as anyone else’s.. or worse, dumb. You should find a web host with superior customer support.

3. The Stats You Need.
Several of the most popular hosts do not offer the web stats that every online business needs. You may not think that you need stats, but, how else are you going to know what is working – and what is not? You need stats that tell you where your visitors are coming from, how long they are staying, and which pages they are coming in and going from. Does your web host offer that? If they have a CPanel as their control panel, they do. Find a web host that uses a standard CPanel.

4. Affordable.
Why spend more if you don’t have to? When looking for a web host, price is always a factor. So, shop around and make sure that the web host you decide upon offers a great price.

5. Room to Grow.
The web host you choose should offer unlimited hosting. This means, that, if you add more websites to your package down the road, the price does not increase drastically for each one. Many online businesses start with one site and grow over time. Can your host grow with you?

6. Bandwidth and Disk Space.
Also, make sure that the host you choose is in the ballpark for bandwidth and disk space. Most programs offer approximately the same amount, but, especially if you plan to add a lot of audio or video, be sure to look into this, as well.

7. A History of Happy Customers.
New hosting companies are popping up daily. Some are being run by a couple of teenagers in their garage. Obviously, that’s not who I want to entrust my business to. Do you? I want to know that the company I’m choosing has been around a few years, and has a history of happy customers to show for it. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, and you shouldn’t either.

Those are the key features that any web host should offer before you consider doing business with them. Choosing a web host can be more important than any other decision you make in your online business – if you choose wrong. So, take the time and find a web host that will work with you, and help you to succeed.

Every time I need customer support, they’re there, virtually 24/7 and my questions are answered so quickly and professionally!

Nicole Dean, Kelly McCausey and Scott are co-owners of Mom Webs Hosting where you’ll find the host that offers everything a WAHM needs – reliability, unlimited hosting, and customer service that never makes you feel intimidated — all at a price you can afford.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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@Moomettes

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Bonanzle ~ WAHM Ventures Into New Online Marketplace ~

Bonanzle ~ WAHM Ventures Into New Online Marketplace ~

One of my new goals for 2009 as both a Work-at-Home Mom and a Baby Boomer trying to establish a supplemental source of income in order to retire,  was to phase out my eBay store and set up a new booth at Bonanzle, the latest online marketplace.

Over the past year, I’ve slowly liquidated much of my merchandise and my eBay store specialized  in strictly Vintage Collectibles ~ mugs, dinnerware, sewing patterns and boutique children’s clothing.

The changes that eBay implemented within the past year became just too much for me to keep up with. I couldn’t believe how much I am paying in Fees each month, just to maintain an online presence at this auction site. Whether I sell anything or not, the fees just keep racking up.

Despite what many of the eBay blogs and mainstream news articles I’ve been reading are saying, mainly, that people are supposed to be looking to eBay and Craigs List for bargains ~ I haven’t  seen an increase in my business.  The holiday shopping season sales this past year were very dismal in comparison to previous years.

Tonight I closed my eBay Store for good.

As an active member of Twitter, I found out about an alternative venue and marketplace, .

It’s premise is simple if you’re a Seller:

• Import Items from eBay or Craigs List

• Import Items with one click

• Import eBay Feedback

As a Buyer, you can search for items by categories, or those posted within the last 24 hours.

There are no fees to list your items or set up a booth.  Yay!  Fees are only incurred once you sell your wares.

Bonanzle accepts Paypal and other methods of payments, such as Google Checkout and Money Orders.

I was able to set up my booth in minutes, and it didn’t take long at all for Bonanzle to import my items from eBay.  The process couldn’t have been easier!  The FAQs and Help instructions are very easy to follow.

You can even create a special “Bonanza” to improve sales! What’s a “Bonanza”?

It’s a quick sale where everyone on the site is directed to your booth for a couple hours to get your stuff gone. Pick a day, start time, and duration below. Choose the items from your booth that you most want to include in the sale. Pick a discount price for those items. Then show up at your booth at the time you declared.

What does this new venue mean for me?  I can continue to sell the items I have a passion for ~ vintage collectibles, as  well as boutique clothing items.  I’ll continue to promote my new Bonanzle Booth in the manner I was promoting my eBay store ~ through widgets, Squiddo, Facebook, my blogs and Twitter.

The only difference I can see is that I won’t be paying fees unless something sells.  Hopefully, through viral marketing, the word will get out about Bonanzle and the Buyers will arrive!

I can’t believe I waited as long as I did to open a booth.

It’ll be interesting to see whether Bonanzle will give eBay any competition this year.  I’m thinking the answer will be “yes.”

What do you think, have you tried selling or buying on Bonanzle yet?

Visit my new booth at: Mooettesgram on Bonanzle

Related Posts:
End of the Beginning ~ Happy Trails to You, eBay

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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@Moomettes

How-To Tips for Incorporating Twitter into Your Daily Business Routine

I hope everyone had a safe, restful Labor Day Weekend.  Many of my fellow Tweets know that I’ve just returned from Vermont.  My Charming Son-In-Law’s originally from Vermont and was in a wedding over the weekend.  My daughter was on the fence whether to take Slugger, my 3-week old grandson up for the weekend to attend the wedding with a newborn. I’m always up for a Road Trip, so I tagged along and was the official babysitter while all the in-laws went and had a good time! Yes, I’m a tad tired.

I was able to keep up with what was going on through Twitter ~ I even was able to get a 7.0 Megapixel Polaroid Digital Camera, thanks to eBay Coach’s tips.  I orchestrated that little coup d’état from VT via text messaging, email & Twitter with my youngest daughter who was still home in Connecticut (no Walgreens in Vermont where I was!)  I’m planning on using the new camera for all the photos I take for my eBay store.

If you aren’t yet on Twitter, you should be.
One of the most highly touted social networking sites on the Internet right now is Twitter. It’s almost too easy to incorporate Twitter into your daily business.   If you’ve used Twitter before you probably already know that it’s a great tool for chatting between friends and fellow online business owners.

Here are some ideas that’ll help you to incorporate this service into the marketing efforts of your business on a daily basis.

First, you must sign up for your own Twitter account or page. The service is free to use and takes just a few minutes to get going. Simply go to http://twitter.com and sign up. When you set up your account don’t forget to fill in your website’s URL and add your personal or business information in your profile.

The next step is to begin following other Twitter users. There are a few ways you can do this. You can either save their pages to your web browser bookmarks or, and this way is easier, once you’ve  found their page simply click the ‘Follow’ button under their name. This will allow you to see their posts, or tweets. Now you’ll need to let others know that you have joined Twitter so that they can follow your updates as well. You can do this by telling your list subscribers, posting about Twitter on your blog, and more. There are even scripts, such as Tweet My Blog, which is the ultimate Twitter plugin for Wordpress & it’s Free, that you can add to your blog or website that will retrieve your most recent tweets and post them for your visitors to see.
You have the ability to use your Twitter page to see what’s happening with others or you can even download applications such as Twhirl that will allow you to have instant messaging style software on your computer to see all your posts and the posts of those you follow.

Now that you’re all set up simply login to your Twitter page or open up your Twhirl software and start sending messages. Just as with any social networking site such as forums or message boards, Twitter can easily take big chunks of your time if not monitored carefully. This is one reason it would be wise to devote a set amount of time per day to network with it. A good starting point would be around 15 minutes each day. You can easily plan this with your morning email check and cup of coffee or at the end of the day.

Anytime something interesting is going on in your business, whether it’s a site change, a product launch or even a special post to your blog, use Twitter to let your followers know. As with any marketing tool, don’t  just bombard Twitter with your links. Be personable and establish your expertise in your niche. Be friendly and observant to others as well and you’ll go far with Twitter.

You can follow me on Twitter & see what I’m up to by looking at the Twitter Box I have on my right sidebar ~ I have a box on this blog, and also my Mama Mentor blog.

You may not see results from your twittering efforts immediately and that’s ok. The important thing is to begin to get your name recognized and be a regular contributor. The more you post and incorporate the service into your daily business routine, the more recognized you’ll become. People will want to know what’s going on with you and your business and in time, you’ll be linked to over and over again by other users.

Reference ~ More Twitter Posts:

Getting to Know Twitter & Your Fellow Tweeps ~ A Great Marketing Tool

5 Reasons Twitter is a Powerful Marketing Tool

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

Follow Me on Twitter
@Moomettes