reBlog from Mommyn Tyme: Mommy's Reviews you can Use

I found this fascinating quote today:

Every year, thousand of chemicals are poured into the environment and millions of gallons of water are needlessly wasted. How? By growing plants. Sure, most of this is done by large agricultural producers, but some of it is still done in personal gardens. And that means that you can make a difference by changing your gardening practices. There are many agricultural producers who have done it, and you can use the same tricks to help your own garden, and the planet.Mommyn Tyme, Mommy's Reviews you can Use, Aug 2009

You should read the whole article.

What is a URL Rotator

What is a URL Rotator

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URL rotator programs? Increase traffic? Free advertising? Tell me more....

URL Rotators? How doe they work?

URL rotator programs, similar to tweet spinner type programs, consistently rotate your URL's throughout other websites and blogs that are part of the program. You will receive random advertising on other sites that belong to the same program. Many of these programs claim high hits, increased traffic, etc. However, it is hard to determine those claims unless that is the only rotator or program you are using. Otherwise, unique visitors to your site, store or blog are difficult to track from origin. One program the tracks the statistics for you is at the link below:

http://www.bizrotator.com/ro.php?id=1398

Or jkump in with my referral link at : http://www.bizrotator.com/?MommyTyme

This program, Biz Rotator, lets you add several URL's for free to rotate. However, the catch is that you refer others to sign up for the program. This is similar to Traffic Swarm, Traffic Digger and other website referral programs. But, what the heck? It's free, right? You won't receive tons of emails, solicitations, etc. Just simply add your url's, sign up (again, it's free), and the more you sign up the higher the frequency of your advertisements.


I encourage you to give it a try. For those of you who do, please comment here and let the readers know how it works for you. I have not put a lot of effort into it until this week, so I am not ready to make a claim on it's success or failure yet. I will post more about it once I evaluate the statistics and hits. Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

You can see the link below that I added to the blog with the Add This button. Click there for more information and the techy stuff regarding Rotators!

reBlog from Valerie on August 30, 2009: Gifts under 5.00!

I found this fascinating quote today:

All Fuzz B shop owners- advertise for one week for free at Mommy;s Tyme- http://www.mommytyme.org/contact.html Follow submission guidelines at bottom of page- then email me the info you want promoted! That easy- Free!Valerie on August 30, 2009, Gifts under 5.00!, Aug 2009

You should read the whole article.

reBlog from Valerie on August 30, 2009: Gifts under 5.00!

I found this fascinating quote today:

See great new additions to Mommy Tyme Bath and Gifts! Many items under 5.00! Low shipping costs.Valerie on August 30, 2009, Gifts under 5.00!, Aug 2009

You should read the whole article.

reBlog from Mommyn Tyme: Mommy Tyme's Words of Wisdom

I found this fascinating quote today:

As we age, we often notice those fine lines, wrinkles, discolorations... But, some of the OTC and in office medical procedures are pretty scary, right? I mean, really, you are going to inject a parasite or an infectious material into your skin? You are willing to put harsh chemicals that EAT a layer of your skin on? Wow. I am not sure I am ready for all of that. But, if you are considering chemical peels, botox, surgery... You may want to read the following articles:Mommyn Tyme, Mommy Tyme's Words of Wisdom, Aug 2009

You should read the whole article.

Contests, Drawings, and more

Contests are always a great way to get recognition and free promotion. This week on Artisan Jewelry Designs on Ning there is a New Group... I Spy! This group member's scour other members pages and shops for items that match the theme announced for that week. This week is Pretty in Pink! See the entries below... If you would like to vote, simply go to http://www.mommytyme.org/contact.html and cast a vote!

reBlog from Mommyn Tyme: Mommy's Reviews you can Use

I found this fascinating quote today:

I want to take a moment and share a new program with you, "Dine without Whine"- sound crazy? Well, what if you could have your entire month of easy, simple meals planned out for you? They are healthy, yummy, and even your kids will eat them? Not only that, they are affordable and come with a grocery list that will save you money and time? Sound good? What if you could try this fantastic service for just a penny! No obligation, just try it... Too good to be true? Well, it's not. It is true. These are fantastic meals designed to be nutritional, affordable, quick and easy for the busy mom, and yummy enough for the kids! The menu comes with a grocery list that has EVERYTHING you will need on it- you just need to browse your shelves and see what you already have, cross it off the list, and then get the rest. Piece of cake, saves money and saves time! I highly recommend you check this out- Dine without Whine! Then share with us, what you think?Mommyn Tyme, Mommy's Reviews you can Use, Aug 2009

You should read the whole article.

Earn and advertise for Free!

Earn money and advertising for your products! Program is free, and I have been very happy with it! What do you think? Check it out and then discuss with us...

Get more Sales- Series 4

Linkbacks-

If you have been following the "get more sales" series, by this time you should have your store chosen, and have become a member of a few social network sites. If you have not done those tasks, refer back in the archive for great leads on these...

Now we need to focus on getting your store or selling venue found when a potential customer types in a search of products you may have...

It really is not as easy as just submitting your site to web site submission sites. That is a start, however. You also need to focus on linkbacks- the more linkbacks, the higher your site climbs in the ranking. So, how does a linkback work? What is a linkback? I will provide you with some resources, but explain it in "Mommy Terms"-

A linkback is a means or method in which other sites will link back to your site. You will submit your site, and that site will have your URL registered along with theirs (and other submissions). Generally sites allow a description or keywords to be attached to your URL. Make sure you choose these carefully. Many request a banner or avatar (which you should have now if you have been following the series, if you do not, scan the archives and find the post titled Banners or Free Banners)

The first places you will want to provide your linkbacks is your selling sites and your social networks you have joined. Check under banners, links to our stores, or another similarly worded tab at your selling venues. Made it Myself has this on their last page of the site. It is titled Member Stores. Grab the code for the MIM banner and place it on your selling site, your blog, your social network, etc. You will then submit to Made it Myself (per their instructions on the page), your banner and link and the link where their banner can be found. Simple as that. Check all of your selling venues for these opportunities.

As for the social networks, when you register, typically the network requests your website or selling venues as part of the application process. Enter the page of your site you want members to see (it does not have to be the first page of your website, you may want to direct people to a mid page where there is more of attention grabbing detail). Once a member of the network, there are a variety of places you can add your linkback. You should have already added your RSS, so that provides one link back. You can also join groups for banner exchanges, post your stores, etc. In those groups, members post their banners or avatars, other members pick them up and place them on their sites, in exchange you place their banner on yours. This can be for blogs, shops, and more. Join as many of these groups as you can, and link back as many sites as you can fit. This constantly raises your rank. The network may also have a place where members post a business directory, a member store page, etc. You can submit your information in these pages, also.

A good starting goal for the next two weeks would be to submit at least 20 linkbacks. If you have difficulty with this, check my site and see the linkbacks at the bottom of the following page http://www.mommytyme.org/contact.html if you would like to link back to this page, simply follow the submission guidelines provided higher on that page. If you have problems, feel free to comment here at the blog and I will help you.

Once you have submitted some of your link backs, share the places where you linked here! We can help each other find great link back sites to help expand each of our linkbacks and rankings! Post them in the comments, and remember, every comment increases your chances to win free Mommy Tyme products! See http://www.mommytyme.org for more details on the free drawings!

Please Vote on this web page --

Here is a great link for submitting your site to various search engines. You can scroll to the bottom of the page and submit to over 20 search engines all at one time. Also a variety of link back and search engine banner opportunities available.

http://www.freewebsubmission.com/

Here is another free selling venue you might be interested in:

http://www.wigix.com/index.php/myprofile/orders/8415862/8

My Craft Corner

Another fantastic social network has found it's way to my email, My Craft Corner. This one has some great contests, including a cricut giveaway- OMG! I have been wanting this item since I saw the first infomercial! But, that is not all you find at My Craft Corner. Promoting groups, opportunities to learn from others experienced in your area, blog promotions for your sales.... So much more! Check it out! Tell them Mommy Tyme sent you.

http://www.mycraftcorner.com


Visit My Craft Corner

Get your banner! Get your Avatar!

I had once been told by a great marketing genius (From Marketing Mama's 101, Jackie Ladner), that you should have a consistent banner and graphics to depict your shop/store. Well, I didn't believe her and I wanted different graphics for each of my stores- Hmm.... I think she was right! I have found that it is difficult to keep the banners straight- I get confused on what goes where, etc. Also, my customers do not recognize this as the same company. So, She was right, I was wrong! I have looked at all my banners and Just can't decide- I have been creating mine through a free banner service (Banner Maker)- if you check the archives you will find the post that discusses how to use and create your own banners.

Now that my business is starting to take off- I think I need one, select banner to represent the store. However, I will use a different banner for each of my blogs- thus, to keep those straight and not confuse my readers. Each of the blogs is so different, - one is for marketing, one is for personal wellness/life change, and one is for family friendly and reviews of products...

However, in searching for the perfect banner to represent my company, I want to ensure that it is something I will keep forever. It is not good to change your look constantly. I have finally figured out my best packaging of my product strategy, so it is time to find the perfect representation. I have scoured several different banner sites, shops, etc. One that I think you could all try, be happy with, and is completely affordable is Heartland Graphics- see the link below. Give it a try, browse, let me know what your think. I still haven't made the official CHOICE for mine yet- but when I do, I will let you all know.

In the meantime, check the graphics out... If you sell handmade, I think you will find the underlying theme they have at Heartland will go well with your products!

Women in Business

One area you may be neglecting in your attempt to promote and sell your products is that of learning. Yes, learning. We can learn from others who have been there, done that, and tried this. So, one fantastic resource that you might want to take advantage of is: Women in Business This is a great social network site that has immense opportunities for the experienced, as well as, the newby!


Visit Women In Business


There is tons of information on this network. As with all social networks you will have your own page to decorate as you like. The owner of this network, Tongya, is super flexible and nice. She allows you to promote how you want, what you want. She does like active participation at least one to two times per week. You can truly learn from some of the business owners on there. This week alone Women in Business hosted vendor parties, information about business taxes, work at home opportunities, prizes, contests, giveaways. This site gives you the TOOLS to succeed, and the KNOWLEDGE to retain success. I sincerely hope you give it a try! Tell them Mommy Tyme sent you.


For those of you who have visited Women in Business- what are the events/activities/forums you found most beneficial? What did you learn? Please share here with others!
Remember- every comment enters you into the drawing for goodies from Mommy Tyme Bath and Gifts

Mistakes in marketing

I wanted to share some tips I recently ran across on email marketing, article writing, and promotions- this article discusses some of the common mistakes we may be making- thus, not helping our business, rather we are hurting it! Definitely worth a good read...

Share your thoughts on this once you read it- any tips?

http://trafficdepot.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=3766733%3ABlogPost%3A38

You can create a slide of your items, see more....

Promote your shop

I wanted to share this social network with you- A great opportunity to promote your links, your badges, stores and more...





Visit Cross Promotion

Get more Tweets

Following is anothe rlink that will help you connect with only the twitter users you want to target.

http://tweetpenguin.com/MommyTyme/done

You can target these users by setting up keywords and phrases. So, for example, if you want to connect with consignment shop owners to discuss and promote your items, you may type in consignment shops as one key word, consignment shop owners, as a second key word. You may be looking for vintage material, then you would set up key words that would be linked to these type of sellers such as "vintage cloth", "material", "vintage shops", etc. The twitter's you target will then be notified of you following them, and likely will reciprocate. Give it a try. Post your outcomes and the benefits/set backs using the Tweet Penguin gave you. Remember, every comment on any of Mommy Tyme Blogs automatically enters you into the drawing found on Mommy's Tyme at http://www.mommytyme.org

Twitter Users!

Previously we had talked about the basics and importance of twitter. It can be a great tool if used correctly, or it can be a great waste of time if used incorrectly. Following is the link to tweetspinner. This is a free tool that can help you routinely post certain tweets, keep track of your followers and reciprocate the following automatically, utilizes key words to find your perfect tweets to follow, etc. An amazing program that can really push you forward with your twitter use. Check it out then let me know what you think, how you are utilizing it, how it is benefiting your business....

Check it out:
http://tweetspinner.com/home

http://bit.ly/K9Axc

Get More Sales Series - RSS Feeds

Well, as promised a few weeks ago, we are going to discuss RSS feeds. These feeds allow you to track new information from specific sites, or to post your information from one site to another. Because your info is getting around on the web, it increases the keyword hits and your google/yahoo rankings, plus it brings that customer who may never have found your original site but found your RSS feed on another site. I will try to give you some more information on the "techy" stuff related to feeds and how they benefit you, but for now, let's get started on creating them.

First, just to get the hang of it... Let's place an RSS feed on your social network.

So, here it is broke down into simple steps-
1. Choose which social network you want to place your feeds on
2. Go to the social network site, go to my page, and then click on add apps under your avatar on the left column
3. In the search box for Applications- type RSS feeds
4. An RSS feed application will pop up, click on add to my page.
5. Once it is added it will direct you back to your page or allow you to add the settings or feeds directly from there. Either way, click settings/edit and several empty URL boxes should appear. This is where you will add your feeds. Keep this screen open.
6. Choose what feeds you want to add. Since this blog is for online sellers, lets add the feeds from one of your selling sites. I will use Artfire as an example, but all selling sites will have an RSS feeds icon somewhere on their page- if you can't find it, type RSS in the search box. It looks like:


7. As an example, go to my artfire page at http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=276101 Go to the RSS feeds icon in the left column and click it (orange and diagonal white striped box, see example above).
8. Once you click on the icon, it will take you to your google or yahoo page and ask you how you want to save it. On Google, you do not have to actually save it, just look up at the left hand corner and the feed will be highlighted there. You can right click, copy and then go to your social network RSS feeds and past it there. See the example of my Artfire feed at the following URL: http://www.google.com/ig/add?feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.artfire.com%2Frss%2Fstudio.php%3Fid%3D37556

You can add several feeds to your page, and set how many feeds you want displayed through the tools on the RSS feed application. Once you have set this up, click save. Your feeds will then be shown on your My page of your social network. You can move this RSS box by clicking and dragging it to a different spot on your My Page.

That is it. Now you have added RSS feeds to your My Page of your favorite social network. Your latest items added to your store will also be updated on your My Page of your social network site.



I would love to hear from anyone who has done this? Did it help your sales? Were the instructions easy to follow? Share your experience with us here.

Mommy's Reviews you can Use

Mommy's Reviews you can Use

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Mommy Tyme's Words of Wisdom

Mommy Tyme's Words of Wisdom

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I wanted to share a great program for increasing traffic to your site and pages. Link below, and complete the registration. This is completely free. You can link one site. You will receiv updates on when your site is referred through link referral, you will also receive reviews and feedback to help you improve your site. This really is a great program if you have your own blog, website, etc. It can help you with the key words, phrases, and the reviews let you know if your site is appealing or annoying...

Try it.





I would love to hear about your experiences with this site. Have you tried it? How did it benefit or not benefit you? Share it here. And remember, every time you comment on the blogs or the website at http://www.mommytyme.org you have increased your chances for the drawing of Mommy Tyme Bath and Gifts free products giveaway!

Spotlighting the Fuzz B

The Spotlight is up and running... So, if you have a grand opening, a sale, or any contests/giveaways you want to promote...go to the link below, scroll down and complete the submission requirements. This is free, and only requires your assistance in tweeting, and promoting by posting the banner! check out what's up there now! Some great sales are currently underway....





This week I want to introduce the newbies to selling online to a great resource... The Fuzz B. This is an excellent spot to sell your wares, and a great option for promoting. There are a few things that make the Fuzz B different from other venues:

1. At the Fuzz B you can create your own unique marketplace- Not just a store, but a market category in which you can allow others to sell under. All of your store items do not have to go under this category, but you can place several. For example, you have likely heard of cafe handmade? That is a marketplace that contains multiple items from various vendors... Or Cotton Candy Marketplace? I even have a Mommy Tyme Gifts Marketplace. You can design, list, and link this marketplace to any social network you choose... Exciting, eh?

2. Another cool option with the fuzz b is the ability to promote all of your various stores (not just Fuzz B stores) from one single page. You can add your widgets from various sites like Artfire, Winkelf, Etsy, etc onto your Fuzz B page. Crazy! This simplifies your life, as you can just list one URL for promoting items at all your various venues. It also allows for you to promote your blog, your website and more! (see my example at http://fuzzb.com/MommyTyme)

3. There are various pricing options- all very affordable. You can try a shop for free, too! How can you beat that? Then if you enjoy the ease of access, friendly environment, and supportive team, you can upgrade to a regular store, and more!

Oh, and don't forget you can create a widget store that you can post anywhere... See mine below!



See what is happening at the Fuzz B






Stop by my Fuzz Hub page and check out more great things you can do at the Fuzz B!


http://fuzzbearthmarketplace.ning.com/profile/Valerie

What is a URL Rotator

Here

What is a URL Rotator

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Split Testing Using a URL Rotator

Here is a link that will help you drive traffic to your site. It is a rotator that allows you to add more than one YOUR sites. You can read more by following below. This is free- thus far, I have not receive masses of emails, problems with my computer, or anything out of the ordinary. I will have to get back to you on if it increases the traffic as it states.

If


Split Testing Using a URL Rotator

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Promote, sell, advertise your sale, your blog and more....

Promote your shop, your sale, your grand opening here!

Currently preparing to do a promotion for Fuzz B shops, also! If you want your shop listed in the Fuzz B promotion scheduled for August 10th, contact me. Click on spotlight above, and enter information in the guest book! To promote any other sales, deals, contests, scroll down the spotlight page and find the instructions for submission/participation!
Questions: Contact Mommytyme70@yahoo.com