You Don't Have To Be The Best

I’m the first one to admit that although I’m a techie and love the latest gadgets, I’m not HTML savvy – my ex was the programmer and he used to do all that stuff for me so I never learned. I subscribe to the “you don’t have to be the best, you can hire the best” concept.

Well, here’s a list of some of my favorite shortcuts to have really cool techie stuff without having to hire a programmer or spend hours learning html, xml or any other programs.

1) Turn your blog into a widget and post it anywhere

In computer programming, a widget is an element that a user interacts with such as a button, checkbox, slider, drop-down list, etc. With your blog as a widget (called a blidget), your latest posts are listed and clickable inside a scrollable box. When you update your blog, the blidget is automatically updated everywhere (only my first update wasn’t automatic … about 15 minutes later). A big plus is that it’s also easy for others to create a widget of your blog and promote it for you.

At www.widgetbox.com look down the left side and click Submit a Blidget. This no-cost service is very intuitive and with a few clicks you’ll be finished. You’ll need your blog URL and your feed URL.

2) Have you found Stumbleupon?

http://www.stumbleupon.com/ is a really great way to find a whole bunch of sites that deal with just your area of specialization. The downside of this feature is that you have to download a toolbar and install it but the upside is that you get to rate all the websites you want to (including your own) to bring in more traffic (and isn’t that what we’re all about if we have a site?)

3) Low cost printing

VistaPrint has been more in the news than it used to be.  When I first started using them years ago, they were one of the best kept secrets around. But these days, my preferred online vendor is Overnight Prints. VistaPrint has turned into an emailing machine, driving me crazy with their invitations for products that have IMHO sagged in their quality.

At Overnight Prints, you can get any one of several designs on business cards, letterheads, postcards, rubber stamps, etc. for just a bit more than postage! They have many more backgrounds for the professional category than VistaPrint and are much easier to work with as a company.  Also, if you want,  upload your own design (and it’s really easy to do that), and it’s a bit more for 250 full color cards on good quality cardstock. (Don’t forget about the biz card test outlined in a previous post).

4) Get paid for reading emails and get free stuff

MyPoints is a little secret I’ve kept for awhile now, but I’m sharing it with you now. When you sign up for My Points, you set what information you’re looking for and what you don’t want. Then you get a bunch of emails to read. They all are well identified and they all contain a button to click to go to the sponsors’ websites. You get 5 points for each one you click through. Doesn’t take very long and you get exposed to some really great deals. Yes, you get a bunch more emails, but here’s the good part. You can trade in the points for STUFF! I’ve gotten several gift cards from WalMart, Webcertificate, Home Depot, and Barnes and Noble. And, that’s just for clicking through the buttons! If you take advantage of some of the offers (and they’re mostly great) you can get up to 1000 points in one swell foop!

5.) Entertainment Book

Have you found this little nugget? This is a BOGO book for all entrepreneurs! Some of the best restaurants in your area are listed in here and you buy one meal and get the other free. Take a contact out to lunch and impress the you-know-what out of them without breaking the bank! It’s also not that obvious to use the coupons or the plastic card. And, if it’s the right contact, they’ll want one, too! Not only meals, but you can get movie tickets, car rentals, hotel tickets, and attraction tickets at a serious discount.

This has been such fun. I think I’ll stop for now and add another 5 moneysavers next time.

See you all.

Work well, play well, be well